Students to receive hepatitis shots

Harwell Elementary opts for immunizations just to be on safe side

Between 20 and 25 Harwell Elementary students will be immunized Tuesday because one of their classmates has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, a highly contagious virus that attacks the liver.

Jane Tustin, coordinator of health services for Lubbock Independent School District, said the case is nothing for parents to be alarmed about and is the third reported this year, which is lower than normal. What's different about this case is the infected child's age.

''The thing is when you have a school district of 29,000 and there are communicable diseases, these things happen,'' she said.

The reason for immunizing the child's classmates is because the patient is young, and young children generally don't have the best hygiene and are therefore more likely to infect others, Tustin said. If the child had been a sixth-grader, for example, immunization for the others likely would not have been necessary.

According to the online Hepatitis Information Network, hepatitis A is the seventh most commonly reported infectious disease and kills about 100 Americans each year. Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, jaundice, pain in the liver area, dark urine, light-colored stools and abdominal pain, the Web site indicated.

There is no treatment for hepatitis A, but rest and proper nutrition can relieve some symptoms. Most patients recover within three weeks, although some have symptoms for up to six months.

Unlike other forms of hepatitis that are spread through blood and bodily fluids, hepatitis A is transmitted through feces, the mouth, close bodily contact and by eating contaminated food or water.

The particular danger with children, according to the Web site, is that children may show symptoms less and thus silently transfer the disease to adults, who are often hit harder by hepatitis A.

Tustin said waiting till Tuesday to hold the immunization clinic does not increase the risk of the exposed children because there is a ''window'' observed by the Health Department, which ordered the immunizations.

Kara Altenbaumer can be contacted at 766-8742 or kaltenbaumer@lubbockonline.com